Box Office News

Box Office Analysis, Oct. 4: Briny "Tale" Takes Top Spot

The DreamWorks CGI-animated fish fable debuted at the top of the heap with a whopping $49.1 million, while the firefighting drama Ladder 49, starring Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta, premiered in second place with $22.7 million.

Shark Tale's huge numbers bolstered the slumping box office and its take now stands as the biggest October opening ever, followed by Scary Movie 3, which opened last year with $48.1 million.

"The box-office has been flatlining for the last month. September was absolutely abysmal," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations told The Associated Press on Sunday. "So Shark Tale and to a lesser extent Ladder 49 really jump-started the marketplace."

The indie drama Woman Thou Art Loosed, starring Kimberly Elise as a woman traumatized by childhood sexual abuse who lands on Death Row, opened at No. 6 with $2.5 million, while I Heart Huckabees, an ensemble comedy from David O. Russell (Three Kings), had a spectacular debut in limited release, taking in $300,062 in four New York City and Los Angeles theaters. The movie averaged a hefty $75,016 compared with $12,226 in 4,016 cinemas for Shark Tale.

This weekend, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $104.4 million, up 77.04 percent from last weekend's $58.9 million take and up 29.58 percent from last year's draw of $80.5 million.

The top three films at the box office this time last year were: Paramount's PG-13 School of Rock which debuted at No. 1 with $19.6 million in 2,614 theaters, averaging $7,507 per theater; MGM's R-rated Out of Time, which opened in second with $16.1 million in 3,076 theaters, averaging $5,262 per theater; and Universal's PG-13 comedy The Rundown which came in at No. 3 in its second week with $9.6 million in 3,154 theaters, averaging $3,070 per theater.